ANNEMARIENEARY

the orphans

Eight year old Jess and her little brother Sparrow are playing at the water's edge when their parents vanish. For hours the children hold hands and wait for their mother and father to come back. But one sleep goes by, then two, then twenty-two, right until the end of numbers. And nobody came back.

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In present day London, Jess has become a mother, a lawyer, a locker of doors. But her brother Ro has never been able to leave that Goa beach. He has grown unpredictable, obsessive, his life devoted to chasing every spurious sighting of his mother.

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When new evidence suggests that their mother might indeed have lived on after Goa, Ro re-enters Jess's life. Jess is determined to protect the life she has built around her but, convinced that his sister knows more than she claims, Ro is intent on answers.

' flawlessly executed... This novel grabbed me so hard I could barely breathe for the last few chapters.'

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'This is a really compelling read... [I] can happily recommend The Orphans without reserve.'

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This is a mystery wrapped in a tragedy, and the author has given it a sense of time and place with brief, unobtrusive descriptions. There are intriguing subplots, and thanks to careful prose, the story moves forwards at a heady, suspenseful pace. I love the depth of emotion, the emphasis on guilt and absolution.